Long time derby fans and veteran derby girls alike have developed a language all of their own. As a new derby girl, it seemed I heard new terms almost every time I was at practice, talked to my team mates or went out on the internet looking for information.
So, I think it is high time someone begin to put together a roller derby dictionary.
Off the top of my head, the following are some of the words, terms or phrases I think should be in it. I ask for you to either give me new definitions, bette…
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Added by Jondi Soper on August 10, 2009 at 6:00pm —
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When you are trying to learn a new skill, it is very easy to get discouraged when you don’t just pick everything up as quickly as you would like.
At least I do.
All my life, I have been relatively good at nearly everything I put my mind to doing. It has always been easy for me to pick up new skills and add them to my bag of tricks. But then all those skills were either craft-related or academic.
So roller derby is a whole new challenge for me. It is a skill in an area I never challenged mysel…
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Added by Jondi Soper on July 23, 2009 at 2:59pm —
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So it’s been nearly three weeks since I have been on skates, due to lack of pads, canceled practices or me just plain not feeling up to going.
The problem is the longer I am off skates, the easier it is to just not go to practice.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to quit. Well most of me doesn’t anyway. And my husband isn’t likely to let me quit, in fact when I chose to miss last night’s practice due to sheer and utter exhaustion he said “well fine, but you aren’t missing Wednesday for any rea…
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Added by Jondi Soper on July 21, 2009 at 9:41am —
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Dreams are often swept aside for real life. Especially the hopes, dreams and ambitions of the young. As we “grow up” we are somehow convinced that the hopes and dreams we once harbored, no matter their hold on our hearts, are best forgotten.
I have always had a flare for the dramatic, which is probably why I found myself drawn to the theatre and music. I sang, no performed, for anyone who would listen and watch as I was a kid. People always told me about my “beautiful voice.” For this reason, I…
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Added by Jondi Soper on July 17, 2009 at 4:48pm —
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My original goal date to be bouting will come and go this weekend without my being on skates.
Skate-or-Bust, ROSI’s big weekend breast cancer benefit affair is only 4 days away. I am excited but in a bittersweet way.
When I first started skating I made a goal to be ready to skate by the July 11 bout. So now that date is going to come and go without my being ready.
I am okay with not meeting this goal. I have come a long way and that is the thing to remember. My skills are just about where they…
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Added by Jondi Soper on July 7, 2009 at 3:00pm —
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One of the wonderful thing about derby is all of the great things teams across the country do for charity organizations. I get out on the internet and read about other derby teams and every single last one of them do all they can for charity.
Derby isn’t a cheap sport. There is equipment to buy, like skates that cost anywhere from $100 to $700, pads that cost up to $100 for a full set and then there is the travel expenses for away bouts. But derby girls do it on their own dollars. They don’t ge…
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Added by Jondi Soper on June 29, 2009 at 12:30pm —
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Women are an amazing thing. Sure we can be bitchy, moody, catty and everything in between; but when push comes to shove, we get things done.
Getting things done is exactly what the women around me have done lately. They saw a job that needed to be done (i.e. finding a way to help me) and they did it. Through words of encouragement, an understanding ear or two and a nudge in the right direction and I am back on course towards becoming a kick ass derby girl.
Several of my teammates have been won…
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Added by Jondi Soper on June 21, 2009 at 6:11pm —
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There are two voices in my head right now.
One is my own voice, saying “I can’t do this. I just can’t do this.”
The other is a tiny little voice that I can barely hear, but it is there and won’t be ignored. It says “Don’t you dare quit, you’ve come so far!”
The problem is that I am so very conflicted. I guess I don’t really want to quit. I have fallen in love with Roller Derby, the girls on the team and with the whole feeling of being a part of something greater than just me and myself. But,…
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Added by Jondi Soper on June 16, 2009 at 10:41am —
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It makes me sad when I hear women say “I would love to try roller derby, but I can’t even skate in a straight line,” or “That looks like so much fun, but I couldn’t do it, I’m not athletic.”
The great thing about roller derby is that women of all sizes and skill levels can join a team and learn! There are some girls on my team, the Rollergirls of Southern Indiana, that couldn’t even stand up on their skates when they first started and they are some of our best skaters now.
I started skating wi…
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Added by Jondi Soper on June 12, 2009 at 11:00am —
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Have you ever watched a baby try to take their first steps?
The first upright steps in life can be really tough, some babies try and try and fall and fall before they accomplish this major life milestone.
Learning the skills needed to play roller derby is a lot like that baby taking their first steps...only we do it with 4 wheels under each foot. Fresh Meat, the term for new rollergirls, try and try and fall and fall. Some pick up the skills fast and others, like myself, take months and months…
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Added by Jondi Soper on June 5, 2009 at 12:18pm —
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Have I mentioned derby injuries? Or perhaps how they both fascinate me and terrify me?
I have spent many hours looking at pictures of various derby injuries. It is like a train wreck, I just can't stop looking! One thing has become clear, no matter what your team's colors are...purple is a derby color across the board. Purple and black bruises!
When I got my first visible derby bruise, I was proud of it. So proud, in fact, I took a picture of it. I admit, it is not all that impressive. But sta…
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Added by Jondi Soper on June 1, 2009 at 12:55pm —
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This is the newest post in a series of blogs I write about learning to be a rollergirl. Feel free to check it out.
http://rpggddss.wordpress.com/2009/05/28/i-am-proud-to-be-a-rollergirl/
Excerpt:
I have met rollergirls from all over the country through the internet at places like www.derbynation.com (kind of a Myspace of Facebook for rollergirls), through this blog, through MySpace and through bouts. They are all wonderful, dedicated women who work to promote their sport and their team.
I…
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Added by Jondi Soper on May 28, 2009 at 2:46pm —
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